By Heidi Trautmann

There is a phrase in Rebecca Bryant ‘s book ‘Past in Pieces’ that has inspired Aliye Ummanel, the playwright and director of the play ‘EV/House where the Greek Cypriot visiting her former house after the opening of the border gates asks the fateful question “To whom belongs this house” The answer is not easy.

Aliye makes five women of different age groups find out about it in very intimate talks and laying open memories both parties have: here the Turkish Cypriot family, there the Greek Cypriot family.

A play laying the finger right into the wounds until they break up and start bleeding, a play that should be on stage island wide.

The roles are wonderfully played by

Deniz Çakır

Melihat Melis Beşe

Hatice Tezcan

Kıymet Karabiber

Asu Demircioğlu

Aytunç Şabanlı

bringing the atmosphere the five women are involved in very clearly to the surface. Their mimicry and body language tell stories giving me the clues I need for not understanding all of what is said. The one woman, played by Hatice Tezcan, is opposed to the visit of the ‘foreigners’ who want to come and see their old home/property/belongings and she sits far apart but she moves her chair closer and closer the more an understanding over roads of memories and tears shed is reached. In the end they hold and console each other and when an official opens the door and asks: ‘Who is the owner of this house’ nobody answers.

I think that the sharing of tea, tears and cake, the mom of the house, played by Kıymet Karabiber, has prepared, the talks and some items brought forward that were left behind when the one party was forced to move out, these bonds bring them closer. The moment when the old lady, the grandmother, played by Deniz Çakır gets an old shawl laid around her shoulders, she had thought long lost, is very touching and it shows what importance people put to such things. The youngster of the five, played by Melihat Melis Beşe, has little knowledge of what happened but by what she was told by her grandma. The Bizimki, played by Asu Demircioğlu which means probably ‘one of the family’ sort of established the balance with the comical presentation, I heard many of the audience laugh out loud when she said and acted her part.

There is not much moving around the stage, it is rather static and concentrating on the women who sit together either silent out of embarrassment or talking and showing their side of the story, while a torrential rain forces them to hold out together in one room.

Again, I don’t want to forget to mention the clever stage design. The adjoining rooms are shown as big wooden square frames with space behind so the women who enter there are seen as a form present but not taking part in the foreground play, you see their sorrow and weeping in the background.

A wonderful play and when coming out of the house, tea with cinnamon and caranfil and some olive bread was waiting for us; what a nice idea to extend the gesture of peace and welcome to the audience.

Director
Aliye Ummanel

Assistant director:
İzel Seylani

Stage and costumes:
Özlem Deniz Yetkili

Lighting:
Fırat Eseri

Music:
Aytunç Akdoğu

Poster/Brochure and Photograph
Umut Ersoy

Stage work:
Rıza Şen

Light effects:
Salih Kanatlı

Stage effects:
Mehmet Eseri

Costume production:
Mehmet Doksöz

Stage Manager:
Mehmet Demir

Administration:
Ülgen Çakır

Public Relations:
Ceren Aktunç - Harper Sözer